The invention relates generally to a buckle and more particularly to a two part clip buckle. More specifically, the invention relates to a two part cooperating clip buckle that can be alternatively oriented to provide either manual or automatic release under tension.
Connectors and buckles are commonly used to join together two separate articles or two ends of the same article. Buckles comprising two interlocking parts are well known. See for instance, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,025,991, 4,035,877, 4,150,464, 4,282634, 6,052,875. The patents describe buckles with male and female parts. The male part is reversibly inserted into the female part and is passively retained within the female by a locking means, usually, resilient arms which are part of the male and which spring outwards into locking grooves of the female upon full insertion. These arms can then be manually compressed to allow withdrawal of the male part. A concern had been that the user would inadvertently cause the release of the buckle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,515 is an example of a buckle with an additional locking feature separate from the resilient arms.
However, the opposite concern has been unaddressed. Under some circumstances it would be desirable to provide for automatic rather than manual release of the male part when extraordinary tension is applied separating the male part away from the female. For example this two part buckle system has been used in combination with lanyards as identity card holders. In this application the lanyard goes around the neck of the user and attaches to one member of the buckle. A clip for holding an identity card is attached to the other member. If the user is near automatic machinery, a danger is created if the card were to get caught in the machinery. Therefore, having an automatic release feature would be desirable. Even more desirable would be a buckle that would optionally provide a manual or automatic release mechanism.
This invention describes a male/female-type buckle for belts and lanyards. In common with other inventions, the insert member can be releasably inserted into the receptacle member and is locked in place be means of two resilient opposed lateral arms extending away from the center of the insert. The arms compress upon insertion, thereby providing spring loading potential energy for their outward expansion. The arms move into locking slots on the body of the receptacle upon full insertion of the insert and spring out into the locked position witin the slot.
This invention provides an alternative automatic or manual release feature depending upon which of the two orientations for insertion of the insert is chosen. The tip of the insert extends further from its base on one leading edge relative to the other (e.g. diagonal). This corresponds to the rear wall of the receptacle which also extends further into the cavity on one edge relative to the other. As a result, when the insert is inserted such that the two diagonals cooperatively overlap each other, full insertion is achieved and the resilient arms, or the locking tab of the arms, are allowed to fully snap into the locking slots of the receptacle. Here, the members can only be separated by manual recompression of the resilient arms.
When the insert is flipped over and inserted conversely, such that the two diagonals are adverse and oppose each other, the insert is stopped short of full insertion only allowing a portion of the locking tab to enter the locking slot thereby providing enough friction to keep the buckle in place, but allowing for an automatic release when an extraordinary tension is applied to separate the two members.
It is an object of this invention to provide a two-part buckle that can be securely fastened
It is an object of this invention to provide a two-part buckle that can be manually separated with one hand.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a two-part buckle that can alternatively be automatically released if tension is applied separating the two members.
In accordance with the above objects and others, described herein, an optionally manual or automatic disengaging buckle is provided, comprising separable cooperating insert and receptacle members couplable in a first and second orientation. The receptacle comprises a generally flat rectangularly tubular body having inner and outer side walls relatively wider than top and bottom walls, an open first end for receiving the insert and a closed second end with an inner surface. The inner surface has variable insert stop means including a raised region with a first edge proximate to the inner wall and a second edge proximate to the outer wall. The insert stop is located equidistant between the top and bottom walls and protruding a predetermined distance toward the first end with the first edge protruding relatively further than the second edge. The top and bottom walls include locking means including paired slots located in the top and bottom walls at an equivalent predetermined distance from the first end. The insert comprises a base having a central post extending away from the base. The post includes a tip, inner, outer, upper and lower sides, and also includes variable insert stop means at the tip having a centrally located stop region with inner and outer edges, the outer edge extending relatively further from the base than the inner edge. The insert additionally comprises upper and lower opposing resilient arms with outer sides facing away from the post, the arms having first and second ends and located on opposite upper and lower sides of the post, the first ends springedly attached proximate to the tip of the post with the arms extending alongside of and diagonal to the post and second ends spaced apart relatively further than the distance between the top and bottom walls of the receptacle. The tips of the second ends are flat and generally parallel to the base, and the arms and post dimensioned to fit within the receptacle by compression of the resilient arms toward the post as the insert is moved into the receptacle, such that, when the insert is inserted into the receptacle in the first orientation, the insert stop of the receptacle reciprocally cooperates with the insert stop of the insert, thereby providing full penetration of the insert and snapping engagement of arms into the corresponding locking slots, and when the insert is inserted in the converse orientation relative to the receptacle, the insert stop of the receptacle is adverse to the insert stop of the insert, thereby preventing full penetration of the insert and preventing the flat tips of the arms from entering the locking slot.
In other embodiments, each member is alternatively provided with a means for attaching a belt or lanyard, and a clip for attaching an identification card or card holder.